Strain

Strain is a geometric quantity that measures

the deformation of a body. There are two types
of strain: normal strain, which characterizes
dimensional changes, and shear strain, which
describes distortion (changes in angles).
Stress and strain are two fundamental concepts
of mechanics of materials. Their relationship
to each other defines the mechanical
properties of a material, the knowledge of
which is of the utmost importance in design.
Stress-Strain Diagram
Normal Axial Strain
Tension Test
Universal Testing Machine
Hooke’s Law and
Proportionality Limit

States that stress is directly proportional

with strain (deformation)
Elastic Limit
A material is said to be elastic if, after
being loaded, the material returns to its
original shape when the load is removed.
The elastic limit is, as its name implies,
the stress beyond which the material is no
longer elastic.
Yield Point
The point where the stress-strain diagram
becomes almost horizontal is called the
yield point, and the corresponding stress
is known as the yield stress or yield
strength. Beyond the yield point there is
an appreciable elongation, or yielding, of
the material without a corresponding
increase in load.
Ultimate Stress

The ultimate stress or ultimate strength,

as it is often called, is the highest
stress on the stress-strain curve.
Rupture/Breaking Stress
The rupture stress or rupture strength is
the stress at which failure occurs. For
structural steel, the nominal rupture
strength is considerably lower than the
ultimate strength because the nominal
rupture strength is computed by dividing
the load at rupture by the original cross-
sectional area. The true rupture strength
is calculated using the reduced area of the
cross section where the fracture occurred.
The difference in the two values results
from a phenomenon known as necking.
Rupture/Breaking Stress
Modulus of Resilience
The work done on a unit volume of material,
as a simple tensile force is gradually
increased from zero to such a value that
the proportional limit of the material is
reached, is defined as the modulus of
resilience. Resilience of a material is its
ability to absorb energy in the elastic
range.
Modulus of Toughness
The work done on a unit volume of material
as a simple tensile force is gradually
increased from zero to the
value causing rupture is defined as the
modulus of toughness. This may be
calculated as the entire area under
the stress-strain curve from the origin to
rupture. Toughness of a material is its
ability to absorb energy in
the plastic range of the material.
Percentage Reduction in Area

The decrease in cross-sectional area from

the original area upon fracture divided by
the original area and multiplied by 100 is
termed percentage reduction in area.
Percentage Elongation
The increase in length of a bar after
fracture divided by the initial length and
multiplied by 100 is the percentage
elongation. Both the percentage reduction
in area and the percentage elongation are
considered to be measures of the ductility
of a material.
Strain Hardening

If a ductile material can be stressed considerably

beyond the yield point without failure, it is said to
strain harden. This is true of many structural metals.
Poisson’s Ratio
When a bar is subjected to a simple tensile
loading there is an increase in length of
the bar in the direction of the load, but a
decrease in the lateral dimensions
perpendicular to the load. The ratio of the
strain in the lateral direction to that in
the axial direction is defined as Poisson’s
ratio. It is denoted by the Greek letter n.
For most metals it lies in the range 0.25
to 0.35. For cork, n is very nearly zero.
Allowable Stress/Working
Stress

The working stress is also called allowable

stress. It is the maximum safe stress used
in the design.
Factor of Safety
Many factors must be considered when selecting
the working stress. This selection should not
be made by the novice; usually the working
stress is set by a group of experienced
engineers and is embodied in building codes
and specifications. A discussion of the
factors governing the selection of a working
stress starts with the observation that in
many materials the proportional limit is about
one-half the ultimate strength. To avoid
accidental overloading, a working stress of
one-half the proportional limit is usually
specified for dead loads that are gradually
applied.
Factor of Safety
(The term dead load refers to the weight of the
structure and other loads that, once applied, are
permanent.) A working stress set in this way
corresponds to a factor of safety of 4 with respect to
and is recommended for materials that are known to be
uniform and homogeneous. For other materials, such as
wood, in which unpredictable non-uniformities (such as
knotholes) may occur, larger factors of safety are used.
The dynamic effect of suddenly applied loads also
requires higher factors of safety.
Axially Loaded Bars
Statically Indeterminate
Problems
If the number of unknown forces exceeds the
number of independent equilibrium equations,
the problem is said to be statically
indeterminate.
Statically Indeterminate
Problems
A statically indeterminate problem always has
geometric restrictions imposed on its
deformation. The mathematical expressions of
these restrictions, known as the compatibility
equations, provide us with the additional
equations needed to solve the problem (the
term compatibility refers to the geometric
compatibility between deformation and the
imposed constraints).